


A Fallen Apprentice

by Magical_Persona



Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: Angst, At least I tried
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:36:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23384626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magical_Persona/pseuds/Magical_Persona
Summary: When fighting for Scandia what if Will had died. Au prompt by aus-aus-and-au-prompts on tumblr.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	A Fallen Apprentice

There wasn’t even a cry. Horace, who was watching the young Apprentice Ranger barely saw the oddly dyed and splotchy cloaked figure fall to the ground. But that wasn’t right! Will was supposed to be, a quick glance behind his shield showed that the space that should have held a young ranger was empty.

Of course it was! Leave it to Will to run on ahead without someone watching his back. And now...now he was on the ground, but he couldn’t be...Will wasn’t moving, but he couldn’t be...No. Horace couldn’t even bring himself to entertain the thought. Will had always been there. Ever since they were just children growing up in a ward miles and miles away from here.

Horace and Halt had traveled so far to get here and Will was stubborn. No way was he going to fall to some measly arrow...right? The knight didn’t have time to dwell on that right now. It was more important for him to return to Will’s side, where he should have been the whole time.

He slammed his shield down ducking behind it long enough to check on Will. There was no rise and fall to his chest. There was no hint of life left in the apprentice’s body. Will was well and truly dead. Horace had failed. He’d failed the one kid who’d gone from enemy to friend.

“Will?” The action was useless. He knew it was, but he pulled Will’s limp body into his lap anyway. “Will, c’mon. Wake up. Quit...quit playing around. Will?”

Horace’s voice was choked and tears fell with a light pat against Will’s cheeks. This wasn’t a story where Will would come back to life because Horace cried hard enough. Even so, Horace couldn’t bring himself to move. He sat there in the damp grass holding his best friend. The one person who had been there through his awful first year of training. The kid who’d been there to beat off some bullies. Now he was gone.

Just like that. A few hours ago Will had been smiling up at him, assuring him that everything would be okay. Horace pulled Will’s body to his chest, holding the small frame. He’d barely recovered from his time as a slave and had then immediately jumped to the aid of Scandia. That was just how Will was and this wasn’t fair! It shouldn’t have happened to someone like him!

Horace pulled himself to his feet, gently pushing Will’s still warm eyes closed. Fine. If that’s how the world wanted to be then he’d be just as ruthless. It was time some invaders learned just how badly they’d messed up.

**Author's Note:**

> Probably not the best writing I've ever had, but I'm slowly getting back into it and this quarantine is killing me.


End file.
